2025 Architecture Awards Winners
AIA Columbus proudly received 67 outstanding submissions for the 2025 Architecture Awards, representing exceptional work across six categories—Large Project, Small Project, Interior Architecture, Residential, Unbuilt, and Architectural Detail. A distinguished jury—Roberto de Leon, FAIA (Chair), Amale Andraos, AIA, and Anne Torney, FAIA—selected this year’s award winners.
A big thank you to our sponsors ARC Document Solutions, CMTA, DesignPro, EDGE, Feinknopf Photography, Integrated Building Systems, Korda, O’Donnell & Naccarato, Osborn, Pella of Columbus, Schaefer, Setterlin, and Terracon.
We have printed copies of the booklet at the AIA Columbus Office. If you would like to pick up a copy, contact [email protected].
Honor Award
Large Project
GSOH – The AEP Foundation STEM Leadership Center
Design Architect: BBCO | Location: Galloway, OH
Project Information
The GSOH STEM Center is a purposefully planned and designed hub for learning, creativity, and connection inviting nature inside, with skylights and treetop views that foster a sense of wonder and connection to the natural world. The design features two Pre-Engineered Metal Buildings – housing the Maker Space and Conference Center – linked by a central conventionally framed structure. This strategic approach delivered a distinctive, high-functioning facility that met both budgetary constraints and programmatic goals.
While the STEM Leadership Center serves Girl Scouts from across Central Ohio, the space is accessible to local schools and community organizations to utilize the facility for events that align with their missions, broadening its reach and impact and making it a true community asset.
Jury Comments
The GSOH – The AEP Foundation STEM Leadership Center exemplifies a compelling integration of architectural clarity, social engagement, and technical expression. The jury commended the project’s thoughtful sectional organization, which celebrates the building’s systems, revealing its inner workings as an integral part of the educational experience. Communal spaces are carefully articulated, with interiors flowing seamlessly outdoors to foster vibrant social interaction. The project’s inventive, yet restrained use of a pre-engineered metal building system demonstrates both efficiency and design ingenuity. Distinguished by its coherence, precision, and purposeful execution, the work fully embodies the Framework Principles while advancing the project’s educational narrative with clarity and rigor.
Honor Award
Residential
Dean-Haidet Residence
Design Architect: GRA+D Architects | Location: Worthington, OH
Project Information
The Dean-Haidet Residence is in Rush Creek Village, a National Trust neighborhood of Wright-inspired Usonian homes in Worthington. Maintaining privacy for each home, while allowing the natural landscape to flow and connect through the lots, is central to the site planning strategies of the neighborhood.
The house is oriented to take advantage of long, westward views as the terrain falls toward Rush Run and align an eastward view away from neighbors and toward a tree lined meadow. The house plan is defined as shifted rectilinear volumes that push and pull counteractively, to create a blend of dense and open spaces, short and long views.
Jury Comments
The Dean-Haidet Residence exemplifies clarity, rigor, and exceptional design execution. Thoughtfully sited within its National Trust neighborhood context, the house achieves a measured and compact scale that redefines expectations for single-family living. The project is distinguished by its meticulous detailing and the seamless integration of interior and exterior spaces, creating a harmonious and deliberate relationship between architecture and site. Its careful attention to proportion, materiality, and context demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of both place and program, resulting in a residence that is both quietly confident and deeply responsive to its surroundings.
Honor Award
Large Project
Global Impact STEM Academy, Upper Academy
Design Architect: WSA | Location: Springfield, OH
Project Information
Global Impact STEM Academy transforms STEM educational access for rural Clark County students by blending secondary and higher education environments on a shared campus, creating seamless pathways to higher education while connecting students to Ohio's broader innovation economy.
The facility integrates specialized laboratory spaces with flexible classrooms, maker spaces, and collaborative areas, supported by direct connections to greenhouse and agricultural garden facilities. The design emphasizes portable technology and furniture systems that enable rapid reconfiguration as project-based learning demands shift throughout each semester.
Jury Comments
The Global Impact STEM Academy exemplifies clarity, economy, and thoughtful design rigor. The jury commends the project for its disciplined and compelling parti, carried consistently from concept through completion. Its industrial corrugated metal exterior is balanced by luminous, engaging interior spaces that foster collaboration and a sense of community. Careful attention to natural daylight enriches the educational environment, while the judicious application of a vivid yellow accent introduces warmth, depth, and a subtle expressive quality to the material palette. Characterized by precision, coherence, and restraint, the project stands as a model of forward-looking educational design that is at once functional, inspiring, and contextually aware.
Merit Award
Large Project
Astor Park Office Development
Architect of Record: Lupton Rausch Architecture + Interior Design | Design Architect: Goettsch Partners | Location: Columbus, OH
Project Information
Astor Park’s design is rooted in its unique riverside context, using the convergence of nearby waterways as inspiration for the building – both functional and symbolic. The undulating façade and copper-toned sunshades provide solar protection, reduce glare, and reflect the clay-rich soil, reinforcing a sense of place. Outdoor spaces carved into the building’s corners offer views into the adjacent stadium, while shared amenities, green space, riverwalk access, and multi-modal connectivity foster an active lifestyle and community engagement for all ages.
Jury Comments
Astor Park Office Development exemplifies refined architectural expression and disciplined attention to detail within a broader urban complex. The jury commends the project for its elegant articulation of horizontal slabs and the deliberate treatment of corner openings, which serve as defining gestures that structure the composition. Interior spaces are carefully orchestrated to modulate scale, creating a human-centered environment that balances rigor and precision with spatial warmth. The project demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of proportion, materiality, and context, resulting in an office development that is both architecturally distinguished and inviting.
Merit Award
Small Project
Scioto Mile Fountain Transformation
Design Architect: AECOM | Location: Columbus, OH
Project Information
The Scioto Mile Fountain has long stood as a symbol of joy, connection, and civic pride in the heart of downtown Columbus. The fountain far exceeded the attendance envision of the original design and faced significant mechanical challenges. Recognizing its deep cultural and emotional significance, the City of Columbus saw an opportunity to reimagine the revitalization of the fountain as an experience and a recommitment to equity, inclusion, and the evolving needs of the community.
The transformation of the plaza was reshaped to a circular layout inviting movement and connection, while new seating areas and shaded knolls offer moments to foster gathering, relaxation, and respite.
The design team preserved the iconic Blossom and Halo structures. The Blossom is repositioned as the centerpiece, with dynamic water expressions that surprise and delight visitors. The Halos were reconfigured to create a fog-filled backdrop and a smaller, gentler spray zone for younger children—ensuring that every visitor, regardless of age or comfort level, could engage with the fountain.
In winter, the fountain transforms into a luminous art installation with glowing spheres. The Scioto Mile Fountain is a living, breathing part of Columbus’s urban fabric, designed to engage and entertain for generations to come.
Jury Comments
The Scioto Mile Fountain Transformation demonstrates a thoughtful and skillful integration of new and existing elements, resulting in a cohesive and engaging public space. The jury recognized the project for its clear spatial organization and sensitive delineation of zones for occupation, which encourage a range of social interactions and activities. New interventions blend seamlessly with the original framework, avoiding any overt distinction between old and new. Attention to the nuances of user experience – such as the balance of sunny and shaded areas, and the variety of fountain interactions accommodating all ages –reflects a deep understanding of inclusivity and place-making.
Merit Award
Interior Architecture
Buck Mason Soho
Design Architect: Greg Dutton Studio | Architect of Record: Sawicki Tarella Architecture + Design | Location: New York, NY
Project Information
This Buck Mason retail location is conceived as an extension of the brand’s story – spaces that speak to craft, heritage, and an authentic respect for materials. In addition to retail, the program includes furnished lounges that invite customers to linger, and an integrated coffee shop creating a social anchor. The layered sequence of spaces guides customers through the store and offers moments of discovery and connection.
The design prioritizes maximizing natural light and reconnecting the interior to its historic envelope. Architects uncovered existing windows, to restore daylight and re-establish views to the outdoors. This reconnected the interior to the building’s original architectural character to be fully experienced.
The primary finish, antique reclaimed hemlock, threads through the millwork, staircase, and fixtures, giving warmth and texture. The result is a space where light tells the story of the building as much as the materials themselves.
Jury Comments
Buck Mason Soho exemplifies a refined and restrained approach to interior design. The jury commended the project for its carefully executed millwork, achieving a balance between craft and subtlety without excess. A single material is thoughtfully carried throughout all levels, creating continuity and cohesion, while meticulous detailing reinforces a sense of elegance and consistency across the space.
Merit Award
Interior Architecture
Minerva France Elementary School
Design Architect: Triad Architects | Location: Westerville, OH
Project Information
Minerva France Elementary School was conceived as a vibrant, flexible learning environment that reflects Westerville City Schools’ vision for student-centered education while honoring the history and character of its community. The site’s rich history as the location of a former amusement park and golf course is celebrated through integrated design elements and murals, fostering a sense of place and curiosity.
Named in honor of Minerva J. France – one of the first Black graduates of Westerville City Schools, a pioneering librarian and English instructor at Wilberforce University, and a notable advocate for inclusive education – the building celebrates a legacy of empowerment and opportunity.
From its flexible Extended Learning Areas to its abundance of natural light and intuitive wayfinding, the school delivers utility, beauty, and delight for students, educators, and the broader community allowing public spaces and accessible for community use.
The building is designed to nurture comfort, health, and wellness through generous glazing creating ample natural light, outdoor learning spaces, and views to green landscapes to create an environment where students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
Jury Comments
Minerva France Elementary School demonstrates an inventive and resourceful approach to design within the constraints of a school budget. The jury commended the clever use of color to define spatial zones, extending seamlessly from floor to ceiling to create a cohesive and dynamic environment. By thoughtfully engaging both floor and ceiling surfaces, the design transforms the interior into a multidimensional experience. Well-executed sectional gestures and carefully considered drop ceilings further enhance the spatial quality, resulting in a lively and engaging atmosphere that supports learning and interaction.
Merit Award
Large Project
43 Green
Design Architect: Moody Nolan | Architect of Record: LBBA Architects | Location: Chicago, IL
Project Information
As the first affordable, transit-oriented development on Chicago's South Side, 43 Green sets a precedent bringing much-needed housing and neighborhood-serving amenities to the historic Bronzeville community. With more than 50% of units designated as affordable, the development mitigates displacement pressures while welcoming a socioeconomically diverse population into a diverse urban neighborhood.
The building’s orientation and fenestration patterns are designed to maximize natural light and views, enhancing residents’ connection to the community. Common areas include community rooms and landscaped terraces to encourage gathering and engagement. The project also promotes healthy lifestyles through improved walkability, access to transit, integrated bike storage, and onsite fitness amenities – features not typically found in affordable housing developments.
The design introduces density while remaining sensitive to the scale and character of the surrounding neighborhood, demonstrating how transit-oriented development can be both inclusive and impactful.
Jury Comments
43 Green embodies a thoughtful and community-focused approach to multifamily housing. The jury commends the project for its well-considered amenities, notable for their quality and impact within an accessible price point. Abundant natural daylight permeates the interiors, fostering openness, comfort, and a sense of well-being. Thoughtfully articulated communal spaces, coupled with proximity to public transit, reinforce the project’s commitment to sustainable urban living and a vibrant, connected neighborhood. The design demonstrates clarity, restraint, and a purposeful attention to both human experience and urban context.
Merit Award
Large Project
High Bank Distillery Co. Westerville
Design Architect: WSA | Location: Westerville, OH
Project Information
This adaptive reuse project, the High Bank Distillery, transforms Westerville's historic 1920s post office into a craft distillery and restaurant, including north and south outdoor dining patios. The program creates ground-floor dining and bar spaces, and lower-level speakeasy-inspired gathering areas while preserving the century-old heritage tree and respecting historic architectural character.
The design clearly distinguishes new interventions from the original 1920s postal architecture while maintaining complementary proportions and materials. The project preserves existing masonry construction while incorporating creative material reuse throughout, such as the original postal teller gates transformed into the host station.
Multiple entry points and flexible indoor-outdoor programming support diverse operational models, while clear distinction between new and historic elements allows future reversibility as community needs evolve.
Jury Comments
High Bank Distillery exemplifies adaptive reuse executed with clarity, thoughtfulness, and precision. The jury commends the project for amplifying the inherent qualities of its site – from the shade of mature trees to the vitality of sidewalk activity – integrating these features seamlessly into the overall spatial experience. Through the careful incorporation and elevation of existing elements, the design demonstrates how architecture can enrich any program while responding meaningfully to context. As a model of density, reuse, and site-responsive design, the project stands as a compelling example of how thoughtful architectural intervention can transform constraints into opportunity.
